Barth

bad season=dead jake

acurtis

i only will if it is the last thing i see on the last day

talkinstick

If he is a trophy to you....then let him have it.....otherwise, let him live to see another day!! Personally.....good season or not....I have killed some birds in the past.... so it does nothing for me to kill a jake just to say i got one....I'd rather leave him go to grow or for someone that will really appreciateharvesting him.

old longbeards

All of us have different reasons we hunt...some like the mother nature aspect...some like the thrill of being in camp...some like the rush of that early morning gobble that shakes the ground your sitting on....some like the walls covered with their hunts...me?!, i love all those things...
But to me, my choice to hunt isnt for the preverbial trophy, for a wall hanger or mount. First and foremost i was raised on my fathers and his fathers mindset of the 'hunting heritage'....to hunt for food.
Yeah, i've come to be more picky over my harvests, but i will never be above taking a young anything...be it turkey or deer or goose. To learn the woods and fields like i have over the years i also have learned alot about myself.

talkinstick

I agree with what "old Longbeards" said. When I mentioned trophy in my response I meant it in a different term than you used "Longbeards". A trophy to one person may be different than what a trophy is to another. I was brought up by the same "hunting Heritage" as you mentioned "Longbeards" and do agree that one should hunt for food. However, in most cases (and I say most cases) the people of today do not survive from what they hunt and do not need to hunt to survive. most people today hunt because they enjoy it. I have become more picky over my harvests as i grow older and that is why if i do see a jake I do not shoot him as i would rather leave him go for someone that has not killed a bird yet or for someone as yourself who enjoys harvesting animals young or old. There is no wrong answer to this question as long as you appreciate the animal you are hunting and are thankful for it should you be fortunate enough to harvest one.

old longbeards

talkinstick, point well made, well said....and well taken, thanks. My apology to you. [&:]

TurkeyStalker

I think that sometimes it might help the flock out to rid some of the jakes. How many of you guys have witnessed two jakes bully up on an ole' tom? I have seen it to many times to count. I killed a "JAKE" last fall that was triple bearded, a trophy to me.

JLmoore1956

Last year, the area my partner and I hunted was swarming with jakes. In fact, the day I shot mine, he had a Tom coming to the call and dekes. There just happen to be a jake and hen, the jake started "hissing" at the Tom and he avoided the jake and hen, dekes, and went into the woods out of range....... I have a bet he was a satallite Tom that had been whooped on a couple times by a 'rat pack'. Jakes oh yeah, they come to the call they loose.[8D]